Page 11 of Hot SEAL, Under Pressure

“He’s calling the dog.” Tasha smiled. “He found her as a puppy on the beach… like a seashell. So he named her Shelly.”

Shelly blew out a breath, relieved though her heart continued to pound as she recovered. “Oh. Funny coincidence.”

Dani shot her a knowing glance, as if she could guess what Shelly had been thinking. “Funny, indeed.”

Shelly raised her glass to take another sip and realized it was empty. “Um, is there more of that wine?”

She was going to need it. This project was already driving her to drink.

ChapterFive

Leaning against the bumper of his parked Jeep, Stefan watched his five teammates walking toward him from the two vehicles they’d just arrived in.

He’d gone down to the beach early to warm-up and stretch before he kicked their butts on the course. Apparently, his teammates had taken the time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast instead.

When they got close enough to hear, he asked, “Are you finally ready to do this?”

“No.” Danny scowled.

Stefan drew back. “What do you mean,no? We already delayed this thing because the candidates were on the course yesterday.”

Begrudgingly, Stefan had given in and admitted that SEAL candidates in the middle of BUD/S training had to take precedence over the bet between him and his teammates regarding his nickname.

But there were no candidates scheduled to test here this morning. He’d checked. So the bet was back on. Time to settle this thing.

“There’s a bunch of people and a camera crew over there.” Danny lifted his chin in the direction of where there was indeed an assembly of people, most looking completely out of place.

Men. Women. Lights. Equipment. Vans.

Normally, he’d be curious. Today, he just wanted to get this thing over with. His future identity hung in the balance.

“So what?” Stefan shrugged, looking back to his teammates. “Ignore them.”

“What if they’re filming a recruiting commercial or something?” Eric asked.

“You’re just afraid I’ll beat you,” Stefan accused after a derogatory huff.

“No. We’re afraid command is going to be pissed if we go busting in there and ruin their shoot. Especially if they are some high-dollar ad company from LA the Navy is paying to be here,” Mason added.

Stefan sighed. “Fine. I’ll go over there and ask them who they are and why they’re here. But if they’re not filming some kind of official thing for the Navy, they’re the ones who can wait for us. Active-duty teams take priority over film crews, or whoever they are, when it comes to use of our own base equipment.”

“All right. You go for it.” Wyatt folded his arms over his chest, indicating he’d be there waiting and probably hoping Stefan’s plans got shot down by these interlopers.

“But, hey, if that sexy Sierra Cox is over there with her film crew, give us a signal. I wanna meet her.” Ty grinned.

There were mumbles of agreement on that point, all of which Stefan ignored as he spun around to stalk across the sand toward the group.

He seriously doubted Sierra Cox was here. Although, he was pretty sure he had heard a rumor she was dating a retired team guy, so who knew? Crazier things had happened. This was California, land of the stars.

Reaching the group, he saw Sierra Cox was not there, but there was a whole lot of other insanely hot females. So many he had to wonder if this was a shoot forLove Islandor something.

What blew that theory were the males in the group. All had the feel of team guys about them. More than that, all of them were decked out in PT gear with big bold letters that spelled out NAVY emblazoned across the chest.

What the hell was going on?

Was this a specialLove Island: Coronadoand they’d cast SEALs? And why the hell did he keep thinking aboutLove Island? Damn his sister for making him binge watch a whole season of that dumbass show the last time he was home visiting for the holidays.

The other people on the beach were definitely a camera crew. But what were they here shooting?

---